I do not own Sakura Wars or any of it's characters…'cause if I did, I wouldn't be calling this a fanfic and I would be sailing on the Caribbean in my private yacht, literally swimming in pools of money.

So, now that that's over, you can read the fanfic. Enjoy!

Oh, and this is set in sort of a past/future sorta way and it's based on if Orihime and Reni hadn't come in ST2.

Jacques, Fifi, Clarice, Sophie, Mikel, Reina, Ravina, and Peter are all my characters. (Even if Fifi is a dog!) NO TOUCHIE!!!

Chapter 28

"YOU TOLD HIM WHAT?!" Yoneda's voice interrupted the usual chatter from Kanna and Sumire, and the occasional outbursts from Iris. Reni looked up from where she was sitting and frowned, and Orihime did the same. Both girls made eye contact; each sending a different message with the same expression. Reni started the eye conversation first. Something's wrong. Well of course! The manager was shouting! Are you going to investigate or should I? I will of course! I thought so…The Daughter of The Sun never backs down from a challenge. Uh huh, so when are you going? Wha-? Now of course! I don't see your legs moving. I'm going! I'm going!

"What color are you gonna be? I'm red!" Ravina exclaimed. "I told you already! I don't wanna play if you're going to cheat!" Clarice and Sophie shouted simultaneously. "Now that's not fair! I can't help it that I have psychic powers!" Ravina said with a childish pout. "And I can't help this overwhelming urge to go to sleep and ignore you." Sophie replied as she walked to the other couch and laid down. "WHAT?! BUT IT'S ONLY NOON!" Ravina exclaimed. "All the better to sleep my dear." Sophie said, tugging on the baseball cap so that it went over her eyes. Ravina frowned and was about to say more, when Valentinov came into the apartment. "Ravina, I need you to do me a favor…"

"NO!" The crack of a shot being fired and the sound of screaming was drowned out by the howl of the icy wind. A girl, no older than fourteen, ran swiftly to the fallen soldier, ignoring the tears running down her face, and the biting of the wind. The snowy plains were now covered with her comrade's blood, and, as the sound of another shot being fired reached the girl's ears, and a sharp pain was felt, hers as well. Gingerly, she touched the side of her right hand with her left, desperately wondering if she could remove the bullet right then and there from the wound. As she heard voices that were unfamiliar, she laid down next to her fallen comrade; creating her death to those who had wished it upon her; only hoping that her comrade, lover, and friend, was doing the same. As the sound of the snow being crushed under heavy boots faded, the girl got up. A blizzard had now begun, and her world was covered in a blanket of white. Ignoring the harsh snows, the girl looked at the man laying face down beside her. And when she flipped him over, a scream ripped from her throat unintentionally. She had been trained not to be afraid or scared when handling with those many fallen. But the person she saw was not Yuri Mikoliovich.

It was the bloody face of Ohgami Ichiro.

Ravina opened her eyes and smiled wickedly at Valentinov. "The damage has been done, sir." she said. Clarice and Sophie stared the dark-haired beauty with their jaws hanging down to the floor, literally. "Good work Ravina. It may have only increased Maria's defenses, but it's weakened her heart." Valentinov replied, walking out of the room.

Ohgami frowned as he heard, over Reina's voice as she went on talking about something rather, the faintest of cries. "Do you hear that?" he asked, interrupting Reina. "Hear…" Reina stopped and looked over at Maria. But the blonde was sleeping peacefully. "Oh. It's probably the neighbor. She cries loudly every time her boyfriend leaves so that we should go over there and ask what's wrong. It's the same thing every week." Ohgami nodded, but he was still doubtful. There was something missing in this equation, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The girl cried hard; finding it hard to believe that this was happening. This isn't the way it's supposed to happen! It's not supposed to be this way! Her mind screamed at her. The girl knew that this was all a dream, but she couldn't seem to wake up. She wasn't sure if she was even separating dream from reality. "What if this really is happening?!" she wondered. "What if he is dead?!" Desperately, the girl tried to look for a way out of this, but it was no good. It was like her mind was trapped in an eternal sleep. Finding that there was no use in wasting her energy in this cold, she lay down next to the body of her lover, and closed her eyes.

Orihime put her ear against the door to Yoneda's office, then looked back at the rest of the Flower Division. "Why are you guys here in the first place?" she asked. "I said that I was going to go investigate. I don't need your help for this job!" "Be quiet or we'll all get in trouble!" Sumire hissed. "Or worse, kitchen duty." Sakura replied with a smug smile as she looked at Sumire. She knew that Miss Kanzaki hated to cook. "Oh just be quiet, you country mouse!" Sumire snapped. The door to Yoneda's office swung open, and everyone except Sumire fell in. "I tried to warn them…" Sumire said with an innocent smile, as Ayame, Yoneda, and Kayama glared angrily at the group of girls.

"Another weeks worth of kitchen duty, plus you all have to make one improvement to the Theater! OHOHOHOHOHO! And I, Ms. Sumire Kanzaki, does not have a single thing to do!" "Hush up Snakey, and hand me some garlic powder." Kanna snapped from where she was. "Say it politely!!" Sumire taunted. Kanna balled her hands into fists, took a deep breath, and then looked at Sumire with an agitated face. "Miss Sumire, may I please have the honor of asking you to pass me the garlic powder?" she asked. Then with second thoughts, she asked with heavy sarcasm that Sumire did not catch, "Should I bow or curtsy when I ask that?" It took a second, but Sumire replied with a smirk, "Curtsy."

"So…this is our apartment?" Peter asked as Jacques unlocked the door to a three bedroom apartment that looked much nicer than the two bedroom one that the girls had. "Yup. But when we get to Russia, Valentinov said that we get a much nicer one." Jacques replied. "So we're getting a bridal suite?" Peter asked jokingly. "How'd you know?" Jacques replied seriously. "Wha-?" "HAH! Got ya! Man, you should've seen the look on your face!" Peter chuckled weakly. "Yeah. I probably should have on many occasions Jacques." he replied. "Such as what?" the Frenchman asked as he plopped down on the couch and got a Coke out of the small cooler. "When Valentinov talked to me in the hallway. Hey, speaking of that, when do you leave for your mission?" "Soon. When I get around to it." "Valentinov lets you do that?" "That's how it's been for several years now." "Hmm…"

Ohgami looked over at Maria as Reina took the tray of empty dishes back to the small kitchen. He got up from his seat and waked over to the blonde and sat down on the bed. As he opened his mouth to say something, he noticed that, in her sleep, Maria was crying. He could see the tears falling fast. Not about to stop and wonder what was so horrible that made Maria cry, he shook her gently. "Maria? Maria? Maria?!" Ohgami's voice was getting more urgent with each call of the blonde's name. But the sleeping beauty continued to slumber in pain.